Here’s a question for those of you who lived long enough to earn the title of senior citizens.

Do you ever pause to reflect on how lucky you are to have lived through years to get to this point in time?

We lived through times when Happy Days was a hit TV show. But, looking backward, we realize it was a lot more.

Happy Days might very well describe the years we lived though.

Come with me and reflect on those years.

We certainly grew up at a time when childhood seemed carefree and uncomplicated.

Hey, it didn’t just seem that way. It was carefree. As a kid I wasn’t aware of problems with which my parents were struggling.

All I knew was that everyday was happy and carefree.

I’m not sure if we were the last generation or next to last generation to have such a simple, innocent, carefree childhood.

As kids we lived outside as much as we could. Even rainy days could be fun, running through puddles and shrieking with glee as we got soaked.

We stayed outside until parents called us to come in. I loved playing street softball with the boys in the neighborhood. I also loved kick the can, hide and go seek and any game our imaginations could conger.

If we wanted to go swimming we either walked or rode our bike across town to the Olympic-size pool we all loved.

I can’t think of a single time when parents drove us somewhere. Of course, that was the advantage of living in a small town.

We could walk to school, walk to church and climb Bunker Hill where all the organized sports took place.

Do you know how many parents came to our games?

Absolutely none.

There weren’t any parents to throw a fit if their kid didn’t get to play as much as the star athletes and no one thought to argue with the referee.

The important thing is, no matter where we walked we were safe. Parents didn’t worry about us, as long as we were home before dark.

By the time I had children of my own, all that was changing. My kids still loved their neighborhood outdoor get-togethers, but they couldn’t walk all over like we did.

It seems like life gets a bit more worrisome with every succeeding generation,

The television show Happy Days had a big following during its decade long run, from 1974 to 1984.

My generation didn’t watch Happy Days on TV. We lived it.

I asked my own daughters what they liked best about their childhood. They said “Being alley kids running around outside with neighborhood kids.”

Today, do you see kids outside playing?

In Florida where we have idyllic weather I seldom if ever see children playing outside.

I’ve told you before how strange I find it that my neighbors drive their kids to and from the bus stop every day. The bus stop is at the end of our block.

When I question why the kids don’t walk, parents tell me they need to keep the kids safe.

Safety wasn’t much of an issue growing up in the 50s.

Not everyone looked at the 50s as being idyllic.

Once, when I had a conversation sitting in a hot tub with young women I was surprised when they told me they pitied me because of the strict times when I grew up.

“You had so many rules,” they said. “You never had the freedom we have today.”

I told them growing up with rules made life easier, not harder.

I can’t imagine the situation they talked about - not knowing the name of a guy with whom they had spent the night.

OK, that’s enough of those thoughts. The bottom line is if you didn’t grow up in the 50s, you don’t know the charm of those days.

Back then drugs were something old people took and hook- ups were what happened when you needed to be pulled out of a snow drift.

During the 50s we seldom got upset when we watched the evening news.

Nor did I remember anyone getting into a fight over their political party or a strong difference of opinion.

I worked with a diverse newspaper staff and we often had lively, differing opinions on topics near and near to us.

We viewed it as an exchange of ideas and never took offense.

Today, I frequently hear people say they “can’t stand someone” because they follow the wrong political party or have the wrong ideas about how we should function.

We believed in God and Country and were proud to live in America. We knew how fortunate we were.

Even our movies were innocent, but we never called it that. We called it good entertainment.

To this day I enjoy those feel good movies when I see them on Netflix or Amazon Prime.

Many of us were people of prayer and some of us still are.

I’m still somewhat of a Pollyanna who believes things will turn around and the kindness movement will grow stronger. I will do my part to help it along by clinging to values I cultivated when the world was a simpler, nicer place.

Meanwhile when I say thank you for the good life I’ve led I remember to say thank you that I grew up in simpler times.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net